Every criminal case leaves some amount of loss, sadness, even grief or despair in its wake. To the victim or a victim’s family, each case is important.

Yet, some cases inevitably attract more attention than others. Sometimes it’s because of the prominence of the victim or the accused. Other times, it’s because of the particular horror of the act or the large number of victims.

Below is a list of some of the more notorious state court cases expected to move forward in San Diego County in 2019. (One case is being handled in Superior Court in another county, but involves victims who lived in Fallbrook.)

Anthony Sepolio — accused of killing four people and injuring others when his pickup plunged off the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, landing in Chicano Park on Oct. 15, 2016. He is charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI charges with allegations of injuring four other people. His trial in San Diego Superior Court is set for Jan. 8.

Those killed in the crash were Cruz Contreras, 52, and his wife, Annamarie Contreras, 50, of Chandler, Ariz., and Andre Banks, 49, and his wife, Francine Jimenez, 46, of Hacienda Heights.

Charles “Chase” Merritt — accused in the 2010 disappearance of the McStay family of Fallbrook, including Joseph McStay, wife Summer and sons Gianni, 4, and Joey Jr, 3. In late 2013, their bodies were found in shallow graves in the Mojave Desert. The following year, San Bernardino County prosecutors charged Merritt, Joseph McStay’s business partner, with murder. On Jan. 7, more than four years after his arrest, opening statements are slated in Merritt’s trial in San Bernardino Superior Court. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

Sheriff’s Deputies Nicholas Morgan and Joshua Nahan — accused of misdemeanor assault without lawful necessity by an officer. Prosecutors say they roughed up a man and his father during a Vista arrest, a May 7 encounter caught on video by a neighbor. Charges against police officers and deputies accused of manhandling or assaulting people who are detained or in custody are rare. A decade has passed since the last such case in the county. Trial is set for Jan. 28.

Luis Alberto Virgen — accused of driving 10 unauthorized immigrants from Mexico in an East County pursuit that ended in a rollover crash that killed three of the passengers on Nov. 29. The Border Patrol tossed a spike strip across the westbound lanes of Interstate 8 in the community of Boulevard, causing the pickup’s tires to blow out. The driver lost control of the truck and crashed. Virgen is charged with three felony counts of murder, three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and seven misdemeanor counts of reckless driving causing injury. His preliminary hearing in El Cajon Superior Court is set for Feb. 7.

Matthew Sullivan — accused of fatally stabbing his wife, Elizabeth Sullivan, 31, after she had met with a divorce lawyer on Oct. 13, 2014, to end their stormy marriage. Almost exactly two years later, Sullivan, then in the Navy, was packing up his Liberty Station home when his wife’s decomposed body surfaced in San Diego Bay. He is charged with murder. A preliminary hearing in San Diego Superior Court is set for Feb. 14.

Timothy Cook and Derrick Spurgeon — accused in the death of Oscar Medina, 28, a music producer, after his body was found crammed into a metal drum discovered in San Diego Bay on Oct. 12, 2017. Cook is charged with murder, suspected of stabbing his roommate more than 60 times. Spurgeon is charged as an accessory after the fact, accused of driving the boat used to dump the body. Their trial in Chula Vista Superior Court is set for Feb. 19.

Those who died were Erika Jiusten Gonzalez-Cardoso, 38, Jorge Luis Garcia-Isordia, 22, and 34-year-old man whose name had not been released by the Medical Examiner’s Office as of last week.

Kellen Winslow II — accused of raping two homeless women in their 50s in the spring of 2018, and exposing himself to another woman in her 50s gardening in front of her home. The former NFL player, who is the namesake son of a Chargers legend, is also accused of raping a teen girl in 2003, when he was 19. His trial in Vista Superior Court is set for March 19.

Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Fischer — accused of on-the-job sexual misconduct involving 16 accusers. The allegations against 32-year-old Fischer range from groping women during arrests to forcing one woman to perform a sex act. Fischer faces upward of 25 years in prison if convicted. His trial in Vista Superior Court is set for April 15.

Jesse Michael Gomez — accused of fatally shooting San Diego police Officer Jonathan “J.D.” De Guzman, 43, and wounding Officer Wade Irwin on July 28, 2016. Gomez is charged with murder and attempted murder, with a special-circumstance allegation of murder of a police officer. He faces the death penalty if convicted. His preliminary hearing in San Diego Superior Court is set for June 17.

Jon David Guerrero — accused of killing and injuring homeless people by driving railroad spikes into some victims, setting two on fire and battering others over a six-month span in 2016. He is charged with four counts of murder, two arson counts, three counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault likely to cause great bodily injury.

Regular criminal proceedings against him are on hold pending a May 20 mental competency trial in San Diego Superior Court to determine whether he can assist in his own defense and understand the charges in what could be a death penalty case. He remains at Patton State Hospital.